The Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters lost a seemingly comfortable 30-point cushion late, but managed to avert a surprising Mahindra surge late to pull off a 114-104 victory at the Mall of Asia Arena, Sunday evening.
JC Intal led Phoenix with 24 points, knocking down six triples, seven rebounds, and four assist. Rookie Matthew Wright added an efficient 21-point effort on only 13 shots, to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
The Fuel Masters troika of Matthew Wright, Cyrus Baguio and Prince Caperal ignited the first half offensive showcase en route to the blowout, wherein they were up by 17 by the break.
Phoenix quickly added sistance to an already comfortable lead by draining three triples as their first field goals in the second half. Mahindra, on the other hand, succumb in defending the perimeter shooting of the Fuel Masters, as they gave 17 triples to the Phoenix.
By the 9:17 mark of the fourth, Intal went for a breakaway fastbreak jam that seemed to put the nail in the coffin and made it a 105-75 separation. However, the Floodbusters continued to play and eventually found their shots falling late, as they suddenly erected a 29-6 run and surprise Phoenix by trimming the lead to as low as seven with under two minutes to go.
“It’s a scary fourth quarter,” admitted Intal. “Medyo nag-relax kami but thankfully we got the win.”
Fortunately for Phoenix, Mark Yee’s layup with 42 seconds remaining was last of Mahindra’s try to fold the game in their favor, while they converted free throws late to extend the lead to multiple possessions.
Poenix ended up a plus-42 from downtown, despite getting outrebounded 61-51.
“It’s coach suggestion and my job really is to play. Mag start or hindi, walang problema sa akin,” claimed Intal after contributing on the team’s win off the bench.
Mahindra had 65 bench points, majority of which came from their short resurgence in the final quarter. Alex Mallari led the team in scoring with 19 markers and four rebounds. Philip Paniamogan added 15 points in his start for the Floodbuster.
Phoenix (2-1) looks to extend their winning streak to three games against the San Miguel Beermen (2-1) on Dec. 11, 4:15pm at the Big Dome. On the other hand, Mahindra (0-3) tries to barge into the win column against an also winless Star Hotshots (0-2) on Dec. 10 on an out of town game, wherein the venue has yet to be announced.
The Scores:
Phoenix (114) – Intal 24, Wright 21, Enciso 12, Caperal 12, Baguio 10, Alolino 10, Torres 8, Lanete 7, Borboran 4, W.Wilson 3, Miranda 2, Javillonar 1, J.Wilson 0, Hayes 0.
Mahindra (104) – Mallari 19, Paniamogan 15, Arana 12, Eriobu 12, Yee 11, Apinan 10, Celda 10, Nimes 6, Guevarra 5, Escoto 2, Revilla 2, Ballesteros 0, Deutchman 0, Salva 0.
Quarterscores: 32-23, 60-43, 95-68, 114-104
